American Prestige

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News - Trump-Xi Summit, Iran Offers Hormuz Deal, Drones Near NATO Military Sites w/ Alex Jordan Sep 25, 2026

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Don’t forget that AP puts out a YouTube exclusive episode and a video version of our Wednesday episode every week!

Studio 54 and Palladium are long gone, so the UN General Assembly is the biggest party New York currently has to offer. Meanwhile, Danny and guest host Alex Jordan bring you the news: Trump welcomes Xi as the U.S. and China extend the Busan trade truce (01:22); at the UNGA, Trump threatens Iran and gloats about U.S. control of Venezuelan oil (5:18); Iran offers to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with conditions (7:58); Trump and Zelenskyy discuss an energy ceasefire (12:53); the U.S. denies Mahmoud Abbas a visa as Benjamin Netanyahu gives his UN address (15:20); the U.S., Denmark, and Greenland sign an Arctic security deal (18:41); Venezuela pledges elections as Trump secures oil access (20:41); the U.S. seeks a Sudan ceasefire (25:19); the Houthis/Ansar Allah consolidate coastal gains and strike Saudi Arabia (28:03); drones are spotted near NATO military sites in Germany and Poland (31:11); Germany sees the AfD gain ground (34:32); and United Russia wins Russia’s first parliamentary election since the Ukraine invasion (38:21).

Watch Alex and Courtney Rawlings on Quincy’s Always at War.

And check out the new mockumentary Lords of War.

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E267 - Mutiny of the College-Educated Worker w/ Noam Scheiber Sep 23, 2026

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Danny and Derek talk with Noam Scheiber, New York Times reporter and author, about the radicalization of American college graduates. They discuss a Starbucks union campaign, underemployment among recent grads, the Taylorization of white-collar jobs, AI, corporate fixation on labor costs, the “con” of college for millennials, and the collapse of meritocracy.

Buy your copy of Noam’s book on the subject, Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class.

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Bonus - American Politics After the 2024 Vibe Shift w/ David Wallace-Wells (Preview) Sep 21, 2026

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Danny and Derek speak with journalist ⁠David Wallace-Wells⁠ about the decline of the liberal order before Trump 2.0 and the current political moment. They discuss the post-2024 vibe shift, Trump's falling popularity, the erosion of institutional trust, the new generation of Democratic Party leaders, the lack of oversight of AI, and China's leadership in green technology.

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Unlocked: The War on Terror Comes to Comics w/ Spencer Ackerman Sep 19, 2026

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Spencer Ackerman, writer of the Forever Wars newsletter and author of Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America, returns to the program to talk about his upcoming political comic book No One Escapes the Dialectic and the state of the comic book industry. The discussion covers labor in comic publishing, the direct market and consignment system, independent publishers like Image and Boom Studios, the plot and characters of the book, the purge of the military under Pete Hegseth, and ICE and CBP’s role in immigration enforcement.

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News - Houthis Escalate Red Sea Conflict, Pentagon Report on Iran War Costs, BRICS Summit Exposes Divisions Sep 18, 2026

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Derek has journeyed to Bolivia seeking contact with the newly discovered cat species, so Alex Jordan of Always at Warsteps in to bring you the headlines. This week: in New Delhi, BRICS member states issue a fractured joint statement on restraint in the Middle East (1:12); Iran strikes a U.S.-contracted vessel near the Strait of Hormuz (5:42); a cyberattack disables Texas-bound tankers (8:30); a new Pentagon report puts the Iran war’s cost at $33.4 billion (9:59); the Houthis/Ansar Allah advance in Taiz and hit Saudi Arabia (14:46); Yemeni government forces strike back while the U.S. rules out direct involvement (19:00); China pushes Iran to restrain the Houthis (22:37); an Israeli strike collapses a building in Gaza City, killing at least 21 people (25:12); the U.S. approves a $2.8 billion weapons sale to Israel (27:34); Russia and Ukraine strike each other’s energy infrastructure (30:57); the House passes a Russia sanctions bill named in honor of Lindsey Graham (33:37); a banking scandal roils Brazil’s presidential race (37:53); and in Sweden, a left-wing bloc narrowly wins an election (41:12).

Don’t forget to grab your copy of Danny’s new book Imperialist Realism.

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AP x NonZero - What’s Driving Dario? w/ Robert Wright Sep 18, 2026

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The AP-NonZero collaboration returns!

Subscribe now to AP to get a discounted membership to NonZero.

The group talks about the recent vibe shift in discourse around AI. What's really going on here?

0:00 Teaser
0:46 This episode's surprise vibe shift
2:30 Middle East update: Houthis vs. Saudis
15:21 What’s really driving Dario (et al.)?
25:14 Debating effective altruism’s effectiveness
30:18 The trouble with big-tech Kremlinology
34:08 Was “learn to code” just sleight of hand?
40:25 Bob’s Fukuyama name drop
42:11 Heading to Overtime

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E266 - The Biden Administration’s Complicity in Gaza w/ Akbar Shahid Ahmed Sep 16, 2026

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Danny and Derek welcome back Akbar Shahid Ahmed, Diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Sun and author of Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel’s War on Gaza, to talk about the Biden administration’s role in enabling the genocide in Gaza. They discuss the conditions in the Strip as of the current day; Biden’s small inner circle of Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, and Brett McGurk; Jack Lew’s role of ambassador and the dubious war crime review process he implemented; the Rafah red line and its immediate collapse after Israel invaded; and the Democratic Party’s domestic political miscalculations heading into 2024 and 2028.

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Bonus - The War on Terror Comes to Comics w/ Spencer Ackerman (Preview) Sep 15, 2026

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RE-POST: Rescue 9/11 w/ Jim Lobe and Laila Ujayli Sep 11, 2026

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*This episode was originally recorded and released in September 2021*

This is a special episode for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Danny and Derek begin the episode with some reflections on their 9/11 experience, and are then joined by Jim Lobe, director of LobeLog and contributing editor at the Quincy Institute’s Responsible Statecraft, to talk about the intellectual origins of the coalition that after 9/11 pursued endless war. The episode then moves to a discussion with Laila Ujayli, associate editor at Inkstick Media, about growing up as a young Muslim in post-9/11 America, the attacks' effects on the American Muslim community, and more.

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News - Canada-US Trade War Escalates, Houthis Seize Yemeni Port, Report Says Netanyahu Ignored 10/7 Warnings Sep 11, 2026

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I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords. In this week’s news: the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirms last month was tied for the hottest ever recorded (0:52); the Houthis/Ansar Allah take the port city of Mokha (1:45); the U.S. and Iran exchange ship attacks as oil prices rise (5:25); the IAEA refers Iran to the United Nations (7:32); Trump predicts an end to the Iran war immediately after the midterms (8:59); 12 countries ban products made in Israeli settlements (10:52); a new report alleges that Netanyahu ignored October 7 warnings and a chance to recover hostages (13:49); the IDF takes a strategic ridge in Lebanon, then escalates strikes (18:30); an arbitration court rules against India on the Indus Waters Treaty (20:49); new claims of famine emerge in Sudan’s Darfur region (23:05); the Nigerian government and Boko Haram maintain a ceasefire (24:59); the Trump administration phases out U.S. support for anti-AIDS programs in Namibia (27:21); American envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff visit Russia and Ukraine (29:22); Ukraine tries to close Russian airspace (31:20); and in a trade war update, Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods take effect (32:50).

Don't forget Derek's Substack, Foreign Exchanges.

Enjoy Danny's new Substack, Imperialist Realism.

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